Nightmares and Fears
by OrangeSlicePop
Summary: Yuri has never had anyone to comfort him after waking up from a nightmare. When all of Yuri's fears are thrown into one nightmare, he might just find someone to give him the comfort he needs, even if it isn't much. Partially based on real events.


Walls closed in around Yuri. He felt the fear creep into his chest and push his heart into his throat. A scream was trapped behind clenched teeth, waiting to be let out. Yuri started breathing faster as panic joined the fear. The walls wouldn't stop until Yuri could barely move his arms.

"Someone help!" Yuri called; hoping one of his friends could hear him. The walls on the box turned transparent and he saw his friends laughing at him. Yuri found himself on the verge of tears. Being claustrophobic and humiliated couldn't be enough to make him cry. Yuri looked at the faces of his laughing friends. Estelle was the worst of them all, pointing and holding her stomach from laughing so hard.

Then a woman appeared, looking like what Yuri imagined his mother to look like. She looked at her son who smiled at her, hoping for some comfort. But she turned around and walked away from her son muttering "_weakling" _as she went. His friends' bodies turned into that of monsters but their faces remained the same. The monster-Karol and monster-Rita held swords that resembled his. The blades pierced the box and stabbed through Yuri's stomach. Yuri gritted his teeth, still trying hard not to scream.

His mother returned again with eyes pitch black. In her hands she held another blade. The lower half of her body was that of a serpent. She slithered up to the transparent box and wrapped around it. She stabbed her son with the sword. The scream ran free like a prisoner free from behind bars. His mother's cool voice spoke to him. "You weak fool. My son wouldn't scream just because he got stabbed, would he? I guess I'll have to _dispose_ of you, Yuri Lowell." The serpent began to tighten her grip on the box and Yuri's eyes widened with horror.

A bloodstained Yuri killed the monsters one by one leaving only Estelle. Yuri screamed in protest. "That's _my _son," the serpent hissed. Yuri suddenly saw the point of another blade protrude from his chest. The bloodstained Yuri walked to the front of the box and smiled a bloody smile. "You and I, Yuri, aren't that different. You are murderous. You would kill them. We will kill them, Yuri. They're not dead; they'll laugh at you even in death." The faces of his dead "friends" reanimated and continued their laughter even louder than before.

Yuri stopped holding back tears and ditched his pride. He wanted to look to Estelle for comfort, but her laughs were maniacal now and all the kindness was drained from her eyes. "Stop, please stop!" Yuri sobbed, but his friends severed heads laughed even harder. "Please, h-help me!" He wanted to sink to his knees but the box and the serpent held him upright. He was reaching hysterics and the serpent-mother continued to squeeze the life out of him. He tried to scream but the box was suffocating him. Flynn appeared with another blade. He aimed it at his forehead and charged. Yuri closed his eyes just as the blade pierced the box.

Meanwhile; Estelle, Rita, and Repede watched the young man as he was having the disturbing and bloody nightmare.

"Poor Yuri…" Estelle said with sympathy.

"It must be some nightmare to make Yuri that terrified," replied Rita. "It's almost unnatural."

"I wonder what has him so scared." Estelle looked at the sleeping Yuri. He was curled in a ball and shaking. Occasionally, pleads for help would escape his lips, barely more than a whisper. She also thought she saw a tear run down his defined cheek.

"I never thought I'd see our fearless swordsman look so helpless. I mean he barely shows his true feelings anyway. He even seems to have a poker face while he's sleeping, speaking of sleeping, I'm going to go to bed."

"Should we leave him like this?"

"Eh, do what you want. I'm not good at comforting people," Rita said nonchalantly. She moved to a place next to the fire and was out like a light. Estelle looked at Yuri. She decided to scoot closer to him and wait for him to wake up just to make sure he was alright.

Estelle didn't have to wait long. Yuri's deep onyx eyes shot open. Repede gently licked Yuri's face. Yuri scratched behind his furry companion's ear and sat up. He looked around, seeing if anyone was awake. He looked at everybody, making sure they weren't monsters. They were peacefully asleep. Except one, he thought, noticing Estelle next to him he said, "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I-I couldn't sleep… A-are you-"

"Ah, it was just a bad dream."

"But… you looked terrified. I was worried about you. It's not like you to be afraid," Estelle said lowering her voice to the softest whisper.

"I'm not made of stone, Estelle. I can be scared," said Yuri growing serious.

"You just seem so fearless. It's hard to imagine you afraid of anything. You always seem made of something like rock or iron. Your poker face makes you seem different and strong… ah I've said too much!" Estelle exclaimed after her outburst.

Yuri looked at Estelle surprised. He never expected her to say something like that. This worried Estelle was different from monster-Estelle. She didn't laugh at him, or kill him with humiliation. She stayed close by him to make sure he was okay. Nobody ever cared enough to comfort him when he had nightmares.

_Maybe I've just been pushing too many people away. _Yuri's eyes started to water. His nightmare was making him lose his poker face. Could a dream really make the calm, cool, and collected swordsman lose it? Repede licked the tears away from Yuri's face. Estelle looked at him with a concerned gaze.

Getting a crazy idea, Yuri leaned over and whispered into Estelle's ear. Her eyes widened in surprise at what he told her. She looked at Yuri and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry I won't tell." Estelle tried to stifle a yawn but Yuri noticed.

"It looks like it's past the princess's bedtime."

"Hey, don't treat me like that!" Estelle said, yawning again. Yuri, feeling bold again, pulled Estelle closer to him and lay back to back. Estelle was so tired she couldn't even protest before she fell asleep. Yuri looked over at Repede and smiled. Repede would wake Yuri up before anyone saw him that close to Estelle. With that knowledge, Yuri fell asleep once more and didn't have any more nightmares that night.

Estelle looked over at Yuri. She remembered falling asleep with him resting at her back, but when she woke up, he was gone. She hoped it wasn't a dream. Yuri looked over at Estelle and smiled. He brought a finger to his lips quickly then looked away as if that didn't happen. She thought about what he told her. _Claustrophobic, I never would have imagined Yuri was scared of tight spaces. He's been in a small jail cell many times. I wonder why that's his fear?_

Yuri placed a hand on his chest where the bloodstained version of himself stabbed him. Yes, Yuri could kill, but he'd never raise a blade to any of them, not even the old man. He couldn't raise a blade to Estelle at all either. She was a flower, not a weed, he couldn't cut her down. She could turn into the most fearsome monster and he could never hurt her. He hoped that one day she would know that.

"Come on, Yuri. Let's get to town," said his flower and he followed the purity that not even his hands could taint.


End file.
